The Bold and the Mad

The regular D&D campaign that I run is currently on hold for now as we're down to only 2 players (excluding me as the DM). Until we can find a new player or any of the old players return, we're going to try an experiment where each player runs 2 characters. One of my players will be running this new game in the Dark Sun setting - a post-apocalyptic fantasy world that will hopefully be significantly different from the usual fantasy settings. I only have passing familiarity with the setting compared to Forgotten Realms, for example, where countless PC games going back to the original Pool of Radiance have left the setting quite stale for me.

This is also the first time in two years (outside of conventions) that I'll be a player rather than a DM and have quite enjoyed creating a couple of characters. Their history and personality isn't as detailed as I'd like, but our first session is tomorrow and might be fleshed out further then.

Notes about the setting relevant to these characters:

• A mul is a sterile, half-dwarf/half-human, that are almost always slaves.
  
• Elves tend to be nomads that wander the wilds that are mostly desert or wasteland.
  
• Psionics is ever-present in the world, with many creatures and people having some kind of psionic power.
  
• Any wielders of arcane power are treated with hatred because of the draining effect it can have on life in the area, which is presumably what has caused the world to be in the state it's in at the moment. Only the evil sorcerer-kings and their servants are allowed to use arcane power.
  

Zarkan “Blue” - male mul bravura warlord, level 1 leader (gladiator, tattooed warrior)

Born into slavery, Zarkan has grown up preparing himself for the gladiator's arena. He is known to spectators simply as “Blue” for the blue geometric tattoos that mark much of his body including his bald head, and he carries them proudly to show his success against beast and fellow gladiator. Although he knows how to entertain a crowd, it's the survival of himself and his allies that matter the most to him. At his best when working alongside allies, Zarkan has long ago learned the value of teamwork in overcoming the odds.

Enna Cuscoe - female half-elf wild battlemind, level 1 defender (wasteland nomad, southern wastes)

Enna grew up with her family trailing behind the nomad clan from which her elven mother had been banished for the crime of having a child of a human father. Her determined parents taught her the survival skills she'd need to survive in a harsh world and ruthlessly encouraged her burgeoning psionic talents.

A slaver attack on their encampment resulted in her father being killed and her mother captured while Enna was left for dead. Only the fortitude lent to her body by her mind kept her alive, but at the cost of a dwindling sanity. Since then whispers just on the edge of her hearing keep her unhinged, and surprisingly her psionic powers have only grown in strength.

Always wiry and tough before, she now has an unsettling aspect about her which makes others uneasy in her presence. She blames herself for the loss of her parents and will do her utmost to keep any group she adopts safe from the same fate. They just mustn't expect much in the way of sensible conversation with her.

Portraits created in Dragon Age: Origins.